Jen Williams delivers a fantastic old-school adventure with The Copper Promise
The Copper Promise by Jen Williams Angry Robot Books Angry Robot Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 05 Jul 2016 Review The Copper Promise is filled with fast-paced action, vile demon-worshipping evil-doers, a motley group of dedicated heroes, magical artifacts, a dragon, a God, and an unstoppable army. The Copper Promise doesn't just promise a quality, old-school fantasy adventure - it delivers. This book is perfect for fans of classic RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, even if their days of gaming are long over. While there is a lot of dramatic action, readers have the sense that no matter how dire the situation becomes, the Copper Cat and her crew will succeed to adventure another day. There isn't a dungeon or enchanted tomb that these adventurers are unwilling to explore, given they are paid enough for the job. The higher the danger, the higher the price, the more eager Cat and company are to do the job. The ruined Citadel, where once the mages dwelled, is rumored to be immensely dangerous, full of unknown traps and monsters, but also magical artifacts of great power. When a foreign nobleman hires Wydrin (the Copper Cat) and Sir Sebastian (an exiled knight), they anticipate danger. What they don't expect is for Sebastian to almost die, a dragon and her army to escape the bounds of the Citadel, and for Lord Frith to become a Mage. The one word I would use to describe The Copper Promise is "fun". Wydrin is never discouraged by apparently unsurpassable odds. With her daggers in hand and a smile on her face, she is ready for anything. Jen Williams even takes time to poke fun at a few old stereotypes - the voluptuous scantily dressed female adventurer, the ascetic paladin, and the all-knowing Mage. The only weakness I found was in the uneven pacing. Parts are a bit slow, while other zoom by. Dive straight in to this rollicking old-school fantasy adventure. 4/5 I received a copy of The Copper Promise from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. --Crittermom Description There are some tall stories about the caverns beneath the Citadel - about magic and mages and monsters and gods. Wydrin of Crosshaven has heard them all, but she's spent long enough trawling caverns and taverns with her companion Sir Sebastian to learn that there's no money to be made in chasing rumours. But then a crippled nobleman with a dead man's name offers them a job: exploring the Citadel's darkest depths. It sounds like just another quest with gold and adventure ...if they're lucky, they might even have a tale of their own to tell once it's over. These reckless adventurers will soon learn that sometimes there is truth in rumour. Sometimes a story can save your life.
